Obtaining information
5.—(1) For the purpose of enabling competent authorities and member States to fulfil the obligations placed on them by Regulation 882/2004 and for the purpose of executing and enforcing relevant feed law or relevant food law, a competent authority may require a control body—
(a)to provide the competent authority with any information which it has reasonable cause to believe the control body is able to give; and
(b)to make available to the competent authority for inspection by it any records which it has reasonable cause to believe are held by the control body or are otherwise within its control (and, if they are kept in computerised form, to make them available in a legible form).
(2) The competent authority may copy any records made available to it under paragraph (1)(b).
(3) A person who—
(a)fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any requirement imposed under paragraph (1); or
(b)in purported compliance with such a requirement furnishes information which he knows to be false or misleading in any material particular or recklessly furnishes information which is false or misleading in any material particular,
is guilty of an offence.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the term “control body” includes any member, officer or employee of a control body.